Welcome to Markets Desk, here's what's moving in the commodity pits this Thursday afternoon.
Soybeans took a notable hit into the close, falling ten to fourteen and a quarter cents despite fresh Chinese purchases giving the market little comfort. The real weight came from a bearish NOPA crush report for September, which rattled sentiment and sent the national average cash bean price down fourteen and a half cents to twelve dollars and four cents a bushel.
The wheat complex told a similar story, giving back early session gains to finish in the red across all three exchanges. Chicago soft red winter contracts dropped one and three quarters to four and three quarters cents, while Kansas City hard red winter shed up to six cents. Bears clearly had the upper hand heading into the weekend.
Over in livestock, lean hog futures managed a modest bounce of thirty five to sixty cents at the close, though the underlying pork market continues to deteriorate. USDA's national base hog price came in at seventy one dollars and seventy cents, but the CME Lean Hog Index slipped again, and pork cutout values have now fallen to a three-plus year low, keeping the longer-term picture under pressure.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
